Healthcare

With a team of more than 100 dedicated healthcare attorneys, we advise hospitals, health systems, physician groups, pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical device companies, life sciences companies, pharmacies, pharmaceutical benefit managers, imaging centers, clinical labs, long-term care providers, distributors, payors, and emerging healthcare innovators, and others on the full spectrum of regulatory, transactional and litigation matters. Our business-first approach ensures legal strategies are practical, scalable – and aligned with your operational and financial goals.

Comprehensive legal counsel

From regulatory compliance to complex transactions, we provide end-to-end legal support across the healthcare sector:

• Regulatory compliance and government investigations – Advising on Medicare and Medicaid regulations, Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, fraud and abuse prevention, and HIPAA/HITECH compliance. Defending against government audits, False Claims Act investigations, and regulatory enforcement, actions.
• Healthcare transactions and business strategy – Structuring and negotiating mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity investments and strategic affiliations. Conducting regulatory due diligence and advising on alternative care models, value-based reimbursement, and risk-sharing arrangements.
• Litigation and dispute resolution – Defending healthcare organizations in high-stakes litigation, including payor disputes, payer-provider disputes, reimbursement challenges, commercial litigation, and employment matters. Managing whistleblower claims, contract disputes, and regulatory investigations.
• Healthcare technology, telehealth, and data protection – Guiding telehealth and digital health companies on licensure, reimbursement, and compliance. Advising on AI-driven healthcare, cybersecurity, HIPAA compliance, and evolving privacy laws.
• Payor contracting and managed care – Negotiating provider-payor agreements, risk-sharing arrangements, and alternative payment models. Assisting Medicare Advantage and managed care organizations with contract disputes, regulatory compliance, investigations, and reimbursement strategies.
• Employment, operations, Immigration, and governance – Handling physician employment agreements, credentialing, and licensure. Advising on complex corporate governance, real estate transactions, tax-exempt structuring, immigration issues, and operational best practices.

Service across healthcare verticals

The modern healthcare ecosystem is vast and interconnected. We work with a broad range of healthcare organizations and sectors, offering tailored legal solutions to meet their business and regulatory needs:

• Hospitals, Health Systems and Academic Medical Centers
  • Guiding M&A, regulatory compliance, reimbursement strategy, responses to government inquiries and operational risk management.
• Life sciences, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies 
  • Advising on FDA compliance, product liability, intellectual property protection, litigation and market access strategies.
• Healthcare technology and telehealth providers
  • Navigating digital health regulations, cybersecurity, reimbursement policies, and telemedicine expansion.
• Post-acute and long-term care providers
  • Assisting home health, hospice, and skilled nursing facilities with licensing, reimbursement, and compliance.
• Behavioral health and integrated care providers
  • Addressing mental health parity laws, telehealth expansion, and regulatory compliance.
• Managed care and payor contracting
  • Handling contract negotiations, risk adjustment disputes, government investigations, and regulatory compliance for Medicare Advantage and managed care organizations.
• Retail and specialty pharmacies, clinical laboratories
  • Providing counsel on licensing, PBM disputes, DEA and CLIA compliance, and fraud and abuse prevention.
• Nonprofit and public health organizations
  • Supporting governance, regulatory compliance, and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) initiatives.

Trusted by healthcare leaders

With decades of experience in healthcare law, policy, and business, Barnes & Thornburg serves as a trusted legal partner to healthcare organizations nationwide. Whether you need regulatory guidance, litigation defense, or strategic counsel on a transformative business initiative, we provide forward-thinking legal solutions that help healthcare organizations achieve their business goals.

Expanded Capabilities

In addition to the comprehensive regulatory, transactional, and litigation services described above, the practice also addresses highly regulated and operationally complex segments of the health care industry. This includes dedicated representation of senior living and long-term care providers on transactional, licensing, certification, and regulatory compliance matters, including surveys, enforcement actions, certificates of need, and reimbursement-related issues. The practice further advises nonprofit hospitals, health systems, and academic medical centers on public finance and tax-exempt bond transactions, including new-money financings, refinancings, and restructuring of existing capital arrangements, as well as related tax and governance considerations.

The practice also offers health care–specific bankruptcy and restructuring capabilities, including counseling on distressed transactions, asset sales, transfers of licenses and provider agreements, and continuity-of-operations issues in regulated environments. Additional capabilities include environmental compliance and medical waste management counseling for health care facilities, as well as integrated legal support for telemedicine, remote care, and digital health models addressing licensure, reimbursement, fraud and abuse, corporate structure, and commercialization. The practice further advises academic medical centers, research institutions, and life sciences organizations on sponsored research arrangements, technology transfer, intellectual property commercialization, and collaboration structures involving providers, universities, and commercial partners.